Alaric's P.O.V
The battlefield was a cacophony of steel and screams, but as I stood before the man who gave me life, the world seemed to fall into a terrifying, vacuum-like silence.
"I didn't betray you, Father," I said, my voice projecting with a steady, hollow resonance that surprised even me. My heart felt like it was being scraped raw, but I kept my blade leveled. I looked at him—really looked at him—and saw only a flickering shadow of the King who used to tuck me into bed. "You weren't always this. You were corrupted by a hunger for power that turned into a rot. It made you a tyrant, and I'm doing this for the future of the Aevum Empire—the people you swore to protect but ended up haunting. Even if it means I'm the one who has to end your life to save your soul."
My father's response wasn't words; it was a guttural, inhuman snarl that vibrated in the air. He gritted his teeth, his face contorting into a mask of pure, unadulterated hatred. Suddenly, a wave of dark, oily energy exploded from his center, a shockwave so violent it sent nearby soldiers flying back like dried leaves in a gale. He was fuming, his humanity completely eclipsed by a rage that no longer recognized me as his flesh and blood. To him, I wasn't his son anymore—I was just an obstacle to be crushed.
We lunged at the same time. The clash of our swords echoed across the muddy field, a brutal, metallic rhythm that set my teeth on edge. Every time his shadow-cloaked blade hit mine, a numbing cold tried to creep into my marrow. But I wasn't alone. I could feel Solace's presence at the absolute edge of my consciousness, like a warm sun rising behind my ribs. She was funneling a fraction of her light into me, a golden, steady warmth that acted as a shield against my father's freezing darkness.
We traded blows for what felt like hours. Every strike was heavy, every parry a desperate struggle. I could hear our grunts of exertion over the clang of steel, seeing the orange sparks fly every time our blades met. He was unnaturally strong, moved by a dark magic that ignored the limits of the human body, but with Solace's power thrumming in my veins, I didn't tire. My muscles felt electric, my vision sharper than it had ever been.
"Surrender, son," he commanded, his voice a jagged rasp that sounded like iron dragging over stone. "Accept the darkness, and we can rule together."
I clenched my jaw, my eyes locking onto his pitch-black gaze with a fire of my own. "Never."
He swung wide, a desperate, powerful arc meant to cleave me in two. It was the opening I'd been waiting for. In one fluid, blurred motion—a move I had perfected during those freezing mornings in the Erindale frost—I feinted hard to the left, dropped low, and surged to the right. I was behind him before he could even begin to pivot. My blade found its mark with a sickening slide, sinking through his back and piercing straight through his chest.
He froze. For a heartbeat, the entire battlefield seemed to catch its breath. The clatter of war fell silent. Then, instead of the red blood of a man, thick, acrid black smoke began to billow from the wound. His body didn't just fall; it began to disintegrate, the skin turning to gray ash as the curse finally consumed the hollow shell that was left of him. I withdrew my sword, my breath hitching as I watched the shadow of the tyrant literally break apart and blow away into the wind, leaving nothing behind but a scorched patch of earth and a tarnished crown.
A roar of victory, so loud it shook the very foundation of the earth, erupted from the Thera ranks. I let out a jagged sigh, my knees trembling as the adrenaline began to fade. I looked up toward the high battlements of the castle, searching, until I found her. Solace was standing there, silhouetted against the sky. She was smiling—a wide, brilliant, tearful smile that told me the nightmare was finally over.
The remaining Aevum legions, seeing their King erased by the very heir he had hunted, lowered their banners. One by one, they dropped their weapons in a mass, silent surrender. The tyrant was gone, and for the first time in years, the air felt like it was finally clear enough to breathe.